Dead Man Walking
by fangirlamanda
Summary: "Hey, Seth, have you seen Aaron at all today?" she asked. Seth made eye contact before quickly looking away. He took a deep breath and sighed, pulling her into an empty break room. The look on his face said it all, and it made her stomach drop. "No, he didn't," she practically begged, thinking back to their conversation the previous day. AU version of episode 2x09


**Just a heads up, this is really shitty and unedited. I've been watching FaZe vlogs all day, so my brain is kinda fried. Hope you enjoy it anyways.**

Emily's day had started out just like any other, chaotic and messy, but still normal. Things were slightly different, however, as Kirkman had left the previous night for a mission to Afghanistan. That meant that it was up to her and the Senior Staff to keep things running smoothly. Things seemed to get stranger as the day went on, as Aaron had missed their first meeting of the day, and she spent nearly half an hour searching for him, before running into Seth.

"Hey, Seth, have you seen Aaron at all today?" she asked.

Seth made eye contact before quickly looking away. He took a deep breath and sighed, pulling her into an empty break room. The look on his face said it all, and it made her stomach drop.

"No, he didn't," she practically begged, thinking back to their conversation the previous day.

… _._

" _What's this about a mission to Afghanistan?" she questioned, walking into Aaron's office._

" _Kirkman and a few others are heading over there to make some territorial deals," he explained, not looking up from his paperwork._

" _Yeah, with Afghan warlords. Please tell me you aren't going,"_

" _That was the plan," he said bluntly, placing his pen on the desk._

" _Aaron, you can't,"_

" _Why not?" he asked, leaning back in his chair._

" _Because, it's too dangerous, and you're basically throwing yourself into the middle of a war zone. You're the National Security Advisor, you aren't a soldier,"_

" _It's not a war zone, Emily. We're going to be staying in a military camp,"_

" _Aaron," she pleaded, trying to hide the desperation in her voice. "Please,"_

" _Alright," he told her, looking down at his hands. "If it bothers you that much, I won't go."_

… _._

"Dammit! He didn't look at me!" she exclaimed.

"What?"

"I should've known he wasn't telling the truth. He can't look me in the eyes and lie to me,"

She was a wreck for the rest of the day, nearly overwhelmed with worry and anger. They didn't hear any news from Afghanistan the rest of the day, but the phone call Emily had been dreading woke her up at 3 am. Something had happened, and they needed her in Command Ops right away. She tried not to have a full-blown panic attack on her way there.

"What's going on?" she demanded, marching into the PEOC.

"The military camp was attacked by Afghan insurgents. We've lost all communication with the President and his detail." Admiral Chernow explained.

Emily tightly gripped the back of a chair to avoid doubling over. This was the ultimate test of her poker face. She _had_ to hold it together.

"What are our options?"

"We're deploying the 1st Squadron of the 82nd Airborne as we speak. Now, all we can do is wait."

And that's exactly what she did. She sat in Command Ops for a grueling two hours before any information was given to her. When news came that the President and Agent Ritter had been located, but the rest of his party was unaccounted for, Emily had to excuse herself. She quickly retreated to her office and locked the door, allowing the tears to flow.

"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" she exclaimed, slamming her fists on her desk out of anger and frustration.

 _How could Aaron lie to her like that?_ He couldn't have even broken the news to her, instead, he passed the job off to Seth.

She looked in one of her desk drawers for the bottle of ibuprofen she kept in there, and with it, she discovered something else: a letter, from Aaron. She opened it up with shaky hands, unfolding the neatly folded paper.

" _Hey Em,_

 _I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have lied to you, and I know you're going to give me hell for it when I get back. But just in case you were right, and I don't, I just wanted you to know that I forgave you for everything that happened with the investigation and that through it all, I still loved you. We can talk when I get back._

 _Aaron."_

Emily dropped the paper on her desk in order to avoid crumpling it in her clenched fists. She clamped her hand over her mouth, trying to contain an agonized sob, but there was no point. She made no more attempts to bar her emotions, and let everything out, feeling absolutely drained and numb. It was a struggle to remain hopeful as she laid on the couch, watching the world outside her office windows grew lighter. Emily found it harder and harder to convince herself that Aaron Shore, the man she was frustratingly in love with, was alive and well out there somewhere. Her phone suddenly began to buzz on her desk, and she immediately stood up, apprehensively walking towards the object. She braced herself on her desk, mentally preparing herself for the worst as she answered it.

"Emily Rhodes."

"Miss Rhodes, we just received confirmation from our men on the ground," Admiral Chernow explained. "The rest of the President's party has been found alive, and are currently on their way back to the US."

Emily would've cried from relief if she'd had any tears left.

"Thank you, Admiral," was all she said before hanging up the phone.

The numbness was replaced by a white-hot ball of anger in her chest at Aaron. That anger stuck with her throughout the rest of the day, but it reached its strongest point when he finally returned late that night. She'd been waiting in his office for him when he got there.

"You lied to me," she stated with an angry and hurt tone.

"Em," he sighed.

"No, don't 'Em' me. Aaron, you lied to me. You told me you weren't going,"

"Because I knew you would try to convince me otherwise until the moment I left,"

"Because I knew that what happened today was going to happen!" she yelled. "Dammit, Aaron I thought I was never going to see you again! I-" she continued before she became choked up on her words. "I thought you were dead!"

"Emily,"

"Oh, and I got your letter by the way. This is how you tell me you love me? By lying to me and sneaking off to Afghanistan behind my back, before giving me the biggest breakdown of my life because I thought you were dead? That's how you tell me you love-" she vented, before being cut off by Aaron's hands at her waist and his lips against hers.

She didn't even have time to process what was happening before he pulled away, his eyes searching her face for the answer to an unknown question. However, she quickly realized the question he was asking: _Did she feel the same way?_

The answer was undoubted yes, and no matter how angry she was in that moment, anger did not negate love, so she did the only thing she could think of. She stepped towards him, wrapping her arms around his neck, one resting on his shoulder and the other working her fingers through his dark curls as she kissed him. His hands went back to her waist, holding her close to him, and she never wanted him to let go. Less than 24 hours ago, she thought she'd never get the chance to see him again, much less do this.

"I'm sorry," he sighed, running his hands up and down her sides as he rested his forehead against hers.

"I've lost too many people, Aaron. I can't lose you too," she whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"Trust me, Em," he grinned, reaching up and brushing it away with his thumb. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

Emily chuckled and smiled.

"I love you,"

"I love you too,"


End file.
